Manufactured Home Owners Network

(The following answers are presented here for your information only. It is not intended to render any specific and/or legal advice, nor to disparage, slander, and/or libel any person and/or organization. Likewise, it is based entirely on the California Mobilehome Residency Law, of which similar laws may or may not apply in other states.)

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Register with the Manufactured Home E-Mail Net(work) to receive periodic e-mail type newsletters in reference to other questions and answers, along with many additional informational pieces on related subjects. Likewise, you will also have the opportunity, if you so choose because of the open type format, to offer your own ideas and suggestions, even to comment on the submittals from others.

Just e-mail me at jsisker@sprynet.com with the word "Register" in the subject field, and I'll take care of the rest. In addition, this will also the same format to use to ask any questions of the Manufactured Home Owners Network itself.

(Information is subject to change without notice)

RENTAL AGREEMENT...

Q. Management takes the attitude of; we don’t have any rights. I find this hard to believe! Does management have that much power?

A. Absolutely not! Management only has the power that you give. Only you can give power to another! Section 798.19 of the MRL (Mobilehome Residency Law) says that management cannot deprive you of your rights under these statutes. The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), has issued a pamphlet entitled: "A Consumers Guide To Manufactured Housing" in which they say: "Today, people who purchase manufactured homes enjoy more protection by the state than purchasers of site-built homes." THAT’S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!

Q. We hear references to rental agreements and leases, what is the difference?

A. None! Except in the case of rent stabilization. Wherever a local jurisdiction has adopted a rent stabilization ordinance, a lease, or long term agreement of over 12 months, is exempt from the rent protection. (MRL 798.17) A lease is a rental agreement. (MRL 798.8)

Q. I moved into this park in January of 1990. My space is in a new section, which I have been told has never been rented before. I’ve also been told that if the present effort to gain rent stabilization is successful, I will not enjoy this benefit. Is this true?

A. Unfortunately, you chose to select a newly developed space that was never rented out prior to January of 1990. If the effort to gain rent stabilization in your area is successful, you will not benefit. (MRL 798.45) However, consider selling or trading your home for another in the less than new developed section.

Q. I have heard that certain provisions are required to be inserted into the rental agreement. Is this true and what are these requirements?

A. You should read Section 798.15 of the MRL. That is if your landlord provided you with a copy prior to February 1 (each and every year), which is one of the requirements. There should also be a provision stating that management will maintain the common area facilities in good working order and condition; a description of the physical improvements to be provided; a provision listing the services which will be provided, for the duration of your tenancy, and a provision stating that management will charge a reasonable fee, following due notice, for maintenance of your space in the event you fail to do so.

Q. We are working to get our local elected officials to adopt a rent stabilization ordinance. Management is now telling us that we have to sign a new rental agreement. This agreement is for five years, and will exempt us from any rent protection. Can management compel us to sign this new agreement?

A. No! There is no authority available to management to require you to sign anything! If management insists that you sign anything, ask them to produce in writing, where they can make this demand.

FEES AND CHARGES...

Q. Pets of a certain size are allowed in our park, but management charges a deposit. Can they do that?

A. It depends. Is it a refundable deposit, and under what conditions? Also, are special facilities provided for pets? Management cannot charge a fee for pets unless special facilities are provided. (MRL 798.33) If a deposit is used for the sole purpose of circumventing the law, it is an unlawful fee.

Q. When I first moved into this park, I had to pay a $600 security deposit. I’ve heard that this is for the first and last months rent, is that true?

A. No! There is no such thing as first and last months rent for tenancy in a manufactured home community. You’re not renting an apartment; you own your own living unit. Presumably your monthly space rent is $300. Management is allowed to charge two months rent as a security deposit on or before initial occupancy, and it cannot exceed that amount. (MRL 798.39) If the inception of your tenancy was January 1, 1989 or later, the deposit was refundable, in full, after paying all rent, utilities, and reasonable service charges, on time, for a consecutive 12 month period. You must however, request the refund in writing, and the landlord does not have to pay interest.

Q. We have found that we are paying for the street lights on our electric bill. Is this allowed?

A. Only if you have entered into a mutual agreement with the landlord to receive compensation for those costs. The landlord was required to disclose this condition if it existed at the time of inception of your tenancy, or on discovery. This situation also applies to gas and water. (MRL 798.43)

Q. How often can the landlord raise the space rent?

A. A rent increase of any amount requires a 90-day notice. See Section 798.30 of the Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL). Conceivably, the rent could be raised every 90 days.

Q. How must the 90-day notice be delivered? I found mine on the porch when I came home.

A. There are only two methods of delivery for any required notice. (MRL 798.14) Leaving a notice on the porch, or taping it to the door are not one of them. The notice must be delivered personally or mailed.

Q. What other notices besides rent increase notices are required?

A. Notices are required in many instances under the MRL alone, and pending legislation may require additional ones. At last count 14 statutes in the MRL require notices. The questioner should refer to the MRL on issues that appear to be without justification.

Q. Is there a limit to the amount a landlord can increase the rent at any one time?

A. No! The rent can be increased by any amount, every 90 days. (798.30) Massive increases are not likely however, at least in the WMA or Western Manufactured-Home Parkowners Association, member parks. The reason: WMA admonishes its members to not impose stringent increases, because, more than anything else, that is a way to ignite what WMA calls, "rent control fever."

Q. Many of the residents in my park have received a 90-day rent increase notice. I received an 85-day notice, and management says that on the sixth day following the date of the increase, I have to pay the new rent. Is this right?

A. No! 90 days means just what it says, 90 days. If management wants to increase your rent, they have to issue you a new 90-day notice. If you are billed for the increase, it is in your best interest to pay the increase in protest, and go to Small Claims Court to recover the over charge.

Q. Management has suddenly begun charging for sewer, water, and garbage, is that allowed?

A. Community owners, as a means of maximizing profits without massive increases in rent, have begun to charge separately for certain utilities that were formally included in the rent. It is allowed only if your rental agreement does not indicate that these items are included in the rent. If these items are not shown as included in the base rent, you can be billed separately for them, provided that the rent is reduced to reflect the separately charged utilities. (MRL 798.41) If the base rent is not reduced, it constitutes a rent increase, which requires a 90-day notice. (MRL 798.30)

RULES AND REGULATIONS...

Q. Our rules and regulations say that enforcement of the rules lies solely within the discretion of management. Aren't’t the rules supposed to be enforced evenly?

A. Yes! But, I presume that we are only talking about reasonable rules. Selective enforcement is used extensively. We know of many cases where the select few, the elite, are allowed to get away with practically anything. Note: Management, except for a subletting rule, is required to obey its own rules. (MRL 798.23) There is a saying: be careful what you wish for, you may get it!

Q. Our rules and regulations say that we are responsible for sweeping the street in front of our home. Can such a rule be enforced?

A. No! Rules in manufactured home communities must be reasonable to be enforced. (MRL 798.56 (d))

Q. Our rules and regulations say that guests, who stay more than 20-days or a total of 30-days in a calendar year, are required to register with management, and sign all of the agreements pertaining to tenancy. Can this be enforced by management?

A. Absolutely not! We see many such rules or a variance thereof, which most likely stem from MRL 798.34. Community owners have a propensity to misuse the MRL for their own nefarious reasons. 798.34 has been established to protect the homeowner from a fee being charged for a guest from the very first day. That’s all it does, in fact the last sentence reads: Such a guest shall not be required to register with the management.

Q. Our rules state that management has the right to do maintenance on my space, and add the cost to my rent. Is this legitimate?

A. We have seen many such rules. They are worded as to imply that management has a great deal of power over the way you maintain your space. Such rules are usually based on sections in the MRL at 798.15 (g) and 798.26. If management has reasonable cause to believe that you are not properly maintaining your space, they have only one recourse: Issue a 14 day notice which states the specific condition to be corrected and an estimated amount that management would charge in the event that the resident doesn’t make the correction.

TERMINATION OF TENANCY AND SALE OF HOMES...

Q. Our resident manager says that if we do not do what he says, we will be kicked out of the park. Can they do that?

A. It depends. First of all there is no such thing as being; "kicked" out of the park. The proper term is: "termination of tenancy" which can only be effected under certain circumstances. None of which can be done verbally. (MRL 798.56)

Q. What are the circumstances of termination of tenancy?

A. There are only seven actual allowable causes of termination of tenancy. The resident can create a situation in which only five of the seven would apply: (a) Failure to comply, after reasonable notice, with a local or state ordinance; (b) substantial annoyance to other residents; (c) conviction of prostitution or a felony controlled substance offense, committed on the property; (d) failure to comply with a reasonable rule; (e) non payment of rent and other reasonable charges. (MRL 798.56)

Q. A friend of mine received an eviction notice, which only said that he was in violation of a certain park rule, there was no other explanation, can this be right?

A. No, it is not right! Did your friend receive a 60-day notice, see MRL 798.55, and how was the notice delivered, 798.14. Also, 798.57, which requires the notice to be very specific as to the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances. If your friend is still in the park, he should immediately consult an attorney.

Q. I want to sell my home but management says, that because of its age, it will have to be removed from the park. Can they do this?

A. Only if we are talking about a trailer or a recreation vehicle. If you are selling a mobilehome, and management believes it to be in very poor condition, it can only be required to be removed on re-sale after an inspection by the enforcement agency. Management is never that enforcement agency. It would be either the state, city, or county. (MRL 798.73)

Q. When I tried to sell my home with two little super market signs in the windows, the manager told me I had to remove them. I don't believe this! Please comment!

A. When we first discussed this you had told me that you don't receive a copy of the MRL prior to February 1st, as required in 798.15. If you had a copy of the MRL, you could have reviewed 798.70. You then would have learned, that you are permitted to have a regulation real estate sign in front of your house, and could have included a holder for informational flyers.

EDITORS COMMENT: We could write a book on MRL 798.74, which is the only enabling statute allowing management to screen prospective home owners, or residents. 798.74 allows management to inquire into a new resident's background in only two areas. Which are, the ability to pay the rent, and prior tenancies, none other; period!

COMMUNICATION...

Q. We would like to communicate directly with our community owner, but the manager won't give us his name and address. Is there another way to get this information?

A. If management wont divulge the name, address and business telephone number of the owner, you will have recourse in Small Claims Court for a breach of contract.

Q. We received new rules and regulations that were left on our porch. Are they enforceable?

A. No, because it is not so much whether the new rules are reasonable, it is because the new rules and regulations and amendments to them must be implemented according to law. (MRL 798.25) If the rules are left on the porch or taped to the door, management didn't comply with proper notice, including a meeting with residents to discuss the new rules. In this case the new rules are void and unenforceable. (MRL 798.25.5)

Q. I recently went to visit my frail elderly mother in her mobilehome park. She is only barely mobile, and asked me to go to the mailbox and collect her mail. On the way I was challenged by management, because there is a rule that says that guests must be accompanied by the resident host at all times. I didn't realize that my mother was living under such restraint, is this a proper rule?

A. You have of course run into a situation where, if the issue went to court, a judge might very likely declare such a rule to be unreasonable. However the residents, including your mother, when their rights are violated, would have to protest.

Q. Our community owner won't allow us to use the clubhouse for select meetings or when outsiders will be in attendance. I have always been of the impression that we are allowed to use the clubhouse for all noncommercial purposes, is this not true?

A. Yes, it is true. Check out MRL 798.50 through MRL 798.52. We find that landlords in an effort to dissuade the residents in becoming organized, will use egregious means to prevent them from assembling. Another ploy is to charge an exorbitant cleaning deposit, or demand that the residents buy liability insurance. A reasonable cleaning deposit is OK, but liability insurance is not. (798.24) Note: This statute also requires that common area facilities are to be open or made available to residents at all reasonable hours, and those hours are required to be posted at the facility.

MANAGEMENT PENALTY FOR WILLFUL VIOLATION...

Q. You have made references to Small Claims Court, would you elaborate?

A. Gladly! Fairly recently, a bill was enabled which gave residents much more clout in Small Claims Court. This bill which has been Chaptered into MRL 798.86, enables homeowners to haul park owners into court on a willful violation charge, to the tune of $2,000 each.

Q. Our manager recently, without even a "by your leave" barged right into my home. Don't we have a right to privacy?

A. Indeed you do, its covered under MRL 798.26. However, you need to check and see if you have given written permission for management to enter your home. If you have, and want to forestall any further invasions, you will need to revoke that consent in writing.

Q. We live in a 44 space park. Recently a water pipe broke, and there was nobody in the park that knew how to turn off the water. Isn't there a law that requires a resident manager in each park?

A. Not in every park. A resident manager is only required for parks of 50 or more spaces. A broken water line is a different matter however. A relative new law in the Health and Safety Code, Section 18603, states in part: (a) In every park, there shall be a person available by telephonic or like means, including telephones, cellular phones, telephone answering machines, answering services or pagers, or in person who shall be responsible for, and who shall reasonably respond in a timely manner to emergencies concerning, the operation and maintenance of the park.

MISCELLANEOUS...

Q. Is there any knowledgeable type organization where I can go for additional information, and beyond just California?

A. Indeed there is. The Manufactured Home Owners Network at www.mfghomeowners.net is the premier on-line informational forum and largest one-stop-source of its kind in the nation for the manufactured home owner.

REGISTER...

Register with the Manufactured Home E-mail Net(work) to receive periodic e-mail type newsletters in reference to other questions and answers, along with many additional informational pieces on related subjects. Likewise, you will also have the opportunity, if you so choose because of the open type format, to offer your own ideas and suggestions, even to comment on the submittals from others.

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